Beijing’s Latest BOLD Move

China has made another bold move in the ongoing South China Sea disputes. In its latest move, China has stationed more fighter jets onto their man made islands. These islands have, in reality, become military bases from which China, if so moved, can control all of the South China Sea. It is reported that an estimated $5 trillion in cargo, gas, and oil pass through this set of sea lanes each year. If unchecked, China will control world trade. Despite denials and rationals from Peking, this is a real threat to peace and commerce in the Eastern Pacific.

Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen

As Written By Lucas Tomlinson, Yonat Friling and appeared first on Fox News:

The Chinese military has deployed new fighter jets to a contested island in the South China Sea and bolstered their advanced surface-to-air missile system on the island, new satellite imagery provided exclusively to Fox News shows. The move is expected to escalate tensions in the region days before Defense Secretary Ash Carter visits the Philippines, where China’s recent provocative actions in the region are expected to be a point of discussion.

Satellite imagery from ImageSat International (ISI) taken on April 7 and authenticated by U.S. defense officials Tuesday show two Chinese Shenyang J-11 fighter jets on Woody Island. The Chinese J-11s, known as “Flankers” by the Pentagon first entered service in 1998. They are a modified version of the Russian Sukhoi Su-27, comparable to a U.S. Air Force F-15 or Navy F/A-18 Hornet.

Woody Island is the largest island in the Paracel chain of islands in the South China Sea. The Chinese installed a runway there in the early 1990s. It lies 250 miles southeast of a major Chinese submarine base on Hainan Island. China has claimed Woody Island since the 1950s, but it is also contested by Taiwan and Vietnam.

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